“I never imagined what you saw in my poem. It is such a unique take. I love it!” commented Alicia Wu on Sophia Valdez’s artistic interpretation of her poem. Others, like Tyler Roberts, responded to Reeta Mersho’s watercolor rendition of his poem, “The Battle” by saying, “Great job! Exactly what I imagined when I wrote the poem. I am very impressed.”

Mrs. Wescott’s eighth grade Honors English classes and Mr. Richardson’s Art Foundations classes collaborated in the poetry/art project. On the afternoon of April 27, 2017, poets and artists met for the big reveal at a cookie and punch reception.

The artwork ranged from pencil, to acrylic, to watercolor. The poems reflected topics such as Juntao Ren’s “Restless,” expressing his amazement at the abundance of God’s beauties on the earth, Kavya Khare’s intricate description of an animator, and Makenzie Homrich’s thoughts on the effects of a life on the stage.

Attracting a lot of attention was Eva Pei’s very emotional pencil drawing of Melody Choi’s words,

Twelve in the morning, I’m losing my sleep.

Always, it’s a pattern, a bad habit to keep

Writing with my pen, thinking with my head.

To be honest, I would rather be in bed.

The pencil shadings showed a girl with disheveled hair, bent over an assignment, surrounded by stacks of books. Melody Choi, in awe of the drawing, remarked. “I’d buy it for a hundred dollars. Thank you so much for representing my poem in such a wonderful way.” Kayva Khare was equally impressed with Vickie Pham’s artwork in pen, “This is truly amazing. It captured the essence of animation every where!” she remarked.

Behind the scenes, Mr. Richardson asked his students to capture three interpretive sketches of one of the poems, and, ultimately, one image became the final work of art. Mrs. Wescott’s English students applied their knowledge of literary devices and rhythm to create their final poems.

Students actively participated in the event. Poets and artists were engaged in discussions about their work while sharing some refreshments. The show was a wonderful way to showcase the use of God’s gifts!